A Simple Build

[Rooscooter]

I wasn't even aware any cutting was required. Looks like I'm in for quite a project.

I do have a reciprocating saw though, so at least I've got that covered. I'll make sure all the wiring is out of the way though!

It's a fairly easy thing to do. I took my time to make sure I protected the wiring in that area. I actually put an old shop towel in there and pushed everything to the very back before I cut the dash piece out.

If you search on YouTube you can find a few videos on it. I posted the one I used as a guide in another thread on Double Din stereo installations. The guy in that video used a vibrating cutter to take his out. You can use a dremel with a cut off wheel as well. If you have some one to help you with a vacuum to get the plastic shavings it will help as well. For a week after I did mine the shaving kept falling from under the dash.

 

[skrelnik]

They are all very neatly labeled, so I think that should be easy enough.

One thing he didn't include and I'll have to source on my own is automotive grade wiring connector plugs for the wires to plug into the speakers. Any recommendations on this?

Oh, I see that in the tweeters, what about the actual amp wires, did they have any connectors.

This is a neat kit, lots of goodies and they heat shrink. From Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VW8LJFN/?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[Rooscooter]

They are all very neatly labeled, so I think that should be easy enough.

One thing he didn't include and I'll have to source on my own is automotive grade wiring connector plugs for the wires to plug into the speakers. Any recommendations on this?

From the look of your pile of stuff it looks like you will be re-wiring the speakers... is that right? If I'm mistaken then if you are using the existing wiring in the sound bar these are what you need.

METRA 72-6514

I had to use a jewelers screw driver to open the clips up a little to get them to slide on the BLAM speakers. They clip into the existing plugs. But if you're rewiring from scratch then you probably would just solder new clips on the end of the wires.

 

[ranger101]

View attachment 172821

Is that a NRA pocket knife? Lol

 

[Chris]

What about getting a double din bezel @Chris, that way you don’t have to cut your stock one. There are many for sale (Crutchfield has one)

I have the double DIN bezel sitting here with me.

It's a fairly easy thing to do. I took my time to make sure I protected the wiring in that area. I actually put an old shop towel in there and pushed everything to the very back before I cut the dash piece out.

If you search on YouTube you can find a few videos on it. I posted the one I used as a guide in another thread on Double Din stereo installations. The guy in that video used a vibrating cutter to take his out. You can use a dremel with a cut off wheel as well. If you have some one to help you with a vacuum to get the plastic shavings it will help as well. For a week after I did mine the shaving kept falling from under the dash.

I have a high powered shop vac and a cordless DeWalt reciprocating saw, so it sounds like that might do the trick nicely as long as I am careful. I can run the vacuum while I am cutting.

Oh, I see that in the tweeters, what about the actual amp wires, did they have any connectors.

This is a neat kit, lots of goodies and they heat shrink. From Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VW8LJFN/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Well there are the RCA connectors, but that's it. No connectors for anything else.

I was thinking something more along the lines of these style connectors:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F54PFLE/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Those would work, no? I'm talking about for where the wiring would plug into the speakers.

 

[Chris]

From the look of your pile of stuff it looks like you will be re-wiring the speakers... is that right? If I'm mistaken then if you are using the existing wiring in the sound bar these are what you need.

METRA 72-6514

View attachment 172975

I had to use a jewelers screw driver to open the clips up a little to get them to slide on the BLAM speakers. They clip into the existing plugs. But if you're rewiring from scratch then you probably would just solder new clips on the end of the wires.

Since I'm doing wiring from scratch (none of the factory wiring will be re-used), my thought was to just cut the connectors off the stock wiring harness and use them, or use some new automotive grade connectors like these ones:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F54PFLE/?tag=wranglerorg-20

None of the factory wiring will get reused, will it @skrelnik? I mean I'm running the speakers off an amp using the wiring Don gave me, so the factory wiring going to the factory speakers is pretty much useless.

Couldn't I just remove the factory wiring altogether?

Hell, do I need to even wire up the head unit other than making sure it has a power, antenna, remote, ground, and amp wires? All the other wires going to the head unit (for the factory speakers) are effectively useless, no?

 

[Rooscooter]

Since I'm doing wiring from scratch (none of the factory wiring will be re-used), my thought was to just cut the connectors off the stock wiring harness and use them, or use some new automotive grade connectors like these ones:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F54PFLE/?tag=wranglerorg-20

None of the factory wiring will get reused, will it @skrelnik? I mean I'm running the speakers off an amp using the wiring Don gave me, so the factory wiring going to the factory speakers is pretty much useless.

Couldn't I just remove the factory wiring altogether?

Hell, do I need to even wire up the head unit other than making sure it has a power, antenna, remote, ground, and amp wires? All the other wires going to the head unit (for the factory speakers) are effectively useless, no?

In that case... if it were me I'd take some red an black wire of the same gauge your using and make a 6" pig tail for each speaker and solder them on and use heat shrink. Then use a butt connector to connect to your new wiring and heat shrink that. The connectors you tagged would work as well.

You are right on the second point. You need the power wires, the parking brake light(depending on your head unit) and the antenna out of the existing wiring harness.

You will need to make sure you remove the entire existing security connection (vertical steel rod behind the existing head unit) as with all of that new wiring you'll need very bit of the space in there.

 

[Chris]

In that case... if it were me I'd take some red an black wire of the same gauge your using and make a 6" pig tail for each speaker and solder them on and use heat shrink. Then use a butt connector to connect to your new wiring and heat shrink that. The connectors you tagged would work as well.

You are right on the second point. You need the power wires, the parking brake light(depending on your head unit) and the antenna out of the existing wiring harness.

You will need to make sure you remove the entire existing security connection (vertical steel rod behind the existing head unit) as with all of that new wiring you'll need very bit of the space in there.

Great advice, I’ll be sure to remove that steel rod as well.

Since I am not going to be using most of t he factory wiring, it makes me wonder if the factory wiring harness for the stereo is part of the main loom? If it isn’t, I could remove it entirely and just make my own wiring harness for the head unit.

Any thoughts or opinions on that?

 

[Rooscooter]

Great advice, I’ll be sure to remove that steel rod as well.

Since I am not going to be using most of t he factory wiring, it makes me wonder if the factory wiring harness for the stereo is part of the main loom? If it isn’t, I could remove it entirely and just make my own wiring harness for the head unit.

Any thoughts or opinions on that?

Hmm... I didn't look to see if that harness is part of the overall harness or not. I was just going to reuse. My guess is that you'll want to remove the power wire from the fuse box entirely so it's not back there. The speaker wires should be separate for sure. Not sure about some of the others that connect to the ignition. This is probably a question for Don or @skrelnik

 

[Wildman]

Chris,
Sorry if I missed this in an earlier post but who did you get all this stuff thru? Those speaker pods for the front LOOK KILLER and would be nice in mine. I have some of the TJ style rollbar pods that I added years ago but they need to be remounted as I did a crappy job last time. I think they have Infinity speakers in them.

That whole setup looks great. Now get busy...... Don't forget to hydrate...

 

[skrelnik]

Since I'm doing wiring from scratch (none of the factory wiring will be re-used), my thought was to just cut the connectors off the stock wiring harness and use them, or use some new automotive grade connectors like these ones:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F54PFLE/?tag=wranglerorg-20

None of the factory wiring will get reused, will it @skrelnik? I mean I'm running the speakers off an amp using the wiring Don gave me, so the factory wiring going to the factory speakers is pretty much useless.

Couldn't I just remove the factory wiring altogether?

Hell, do I need to even wire up the head unit other than making sure it has a power, antenna, remote, ground, and amp wires? All the other wires going to the head unit (for the factory speakers) are effectively useless, no?

I would not reuse the stock pigtails, just because of age at this point. I like the connectors you posted as well, or the kit I posted, whichever you feel more comfortable with.

You can remove all factory wiring, I believe you have all new wire just so just toss the old stuff.

You are correct about the head unit, you just need to connect the items you mentioned. Then you have the T-Spec v12 RCA cables that will plug into the amplifier, from the head unit. It looks like you have two sets of RCA cables, so four connections/signals, front right/left and rear right/left. Or do you have three sets, and the third would send a signal from the subwoofer channel (out of the head unit)? That is important when tuning the amplifier. The sound processor allows you to take the signals and reroute them to any speaker, so in your case, you have four input signals but eight output signals. I know Don tuned the amp according to what he sent.

 

[skrelnik]

In that case... if it were me I'd take some red an black wire of the same gauge your using and make a 6" pig tail for each speaker and solder them on and use heat shrink. Then use a butt connector to connect to your new wiring and heat shrink that. The connectors you tagged would work as well.

I believe all the speakers have pre-existing pigtails, so the wire from the amp just needs a butt connector, as you mentioned, but since he has the pigatils, at least from the pics of the tweeters and 5.25"s.

Great advice, I’ll be sure to remove that steel rod as well.

Since I am not going to be using most of t he factory wiring, it makes me wonder if the factory wiring harness for the stereo is part of the main loom? If it isn’t, I could remove it entirely and just make my own wiring harness for the head unit.

Any thoughts or opinions on that?

Hmm... I didn't look to see if that harness is part of the overall harness or not. I was just going to reuse. My guess is that you'll want to remove the power wire from the fuse box entirely so it's not back there. The speaker wires should be separate for sure. Not sure about some of the others that connect to the ignition. This is probably a question for Don or @skrelnik

I kept my harness in tact since it was easier to connect it. Technically you could remove the harness and then reconnect wires, but seems like extra work. Once you look you will know if you want to do that.

 

[skrelnik]

Chris,
Sorry if I missed this in an earlier post but who did you get all this stuff thru? Those speaker pods for the front LOOK KILLER and would be nice in mine. I have some of the TJ style rollbar pods that I added years ago but they need to be remounted as I did a crappy job last time. I think they have Infinity speakers in them.

That whole setup looks great. Now get busy...... Don't forget to hydrate...

110 in the garage is in insanely hot!

 

[Rooscooter]

110 in the garage is in insanely hot!

Actually for this time of year that's not too bad... June is our hottest month and this one has been fairly mild.

 

[bobthetj03]

It's a dry heat. I spent a good part of the day on the roof doing repairs at 107* by the time I gave up. Buck up @Chris.

 

[Chris]

It's a dry heat. I spent a good part of the day on the roof doing repairs at 107* by the time I gave up. Buck up @Chris.

Do you have a 1 year old, a 4 year old, and a 7 year old all bothering you at all times, out of school too because of some "pandemic" where god forbid someone might get the flu?

Trust me, if it wasn't for the damn kids, I'd be out there doing it now. Try being in my situation and telling your wife, "Honey, I'm going to leave you with the kids for 3-4 hours while I go out in the garage and install a stereo".

Yeah, I'd never hear the end of it

 

[Chris]

I would not reuse the stock pigtails, just because of age at this point. I like the connectors you posted as well, or the kit I posted, whichever you feel more comfortable with.

You can remove all factory wiring, I believe you have all new wire just so just toss the old stuff.

You are correct about the head unit, you just need to connect the items you mentioned. Then you have the T-Spec v12 RCA cables that will plug into the amplifier, from the head unit. It looks like you have two sets of RCA cables, so four connections/signals, front right/left and rear right/left. Or do you have three sets, and the third would send a signal from the subwoofer channel (out of the head unit)? That is important when tuning the amplifier. The sound processor allows you to take the signals and reroute them to any speaker, so in your case, you have four input signals but eight output signals. I know Don tuned the amp according to what he sent.

I have two sets of RCAs, yes.

I may run into some questions at which point I'll post them here or ask Don.

My big thing though is is it really possible to remove the factory wiring harness for the front and rear speakers? I would assume it's somehow tied into the main wiring loom, which will make it impossible to actually remove without cutting stuff, no?

 

[Chris]

Hmm... I didn't look to see if that harness is part of the overall harness or not. I was just going to reuse. My guess is that you'll want to remove the power wire from the fuse box entirely so it's not back there. The speaker wires should be separate for sure. Not sure about some of the others that connect to the ignition. This is probably a question for Don or @skrelnik

Okay, well at the very least I'll likely remove the factory speaker wiring harnesses, since I won't need them, and having unused wiring harnesses there will just mess with my OCD! I'll run it by Don as well though, since I'm sure he has some first hand experience.

Chris,
Sorry if I missed this in an earlier post but who did you get all this stuff thru? Those speaker pods for the front LOOK KILLER and would be nice in mine. I have some of the TJ style rollbar pods that I added years ago but they need to be remounted as I did a crappy job last time. I think they have Infinity speakers in them.

That whole setup looks great. Now get busy...... Don't forget to hydrate...

I got it through Don Amann at Unexpected Creations. He's very well known across many automotive forums, and is an audio guru.

Obviously this is a very expensive setup, but I'm very big on music and good quality sound, so to me it's worth the splurge.

I'm going to start doing things this week and pace myself. I figure if I take a week or so to do it, I can sneak things in here and there without pissing anyone off and maintaining my sanity as well.

 

[Chris]

I just went and looked. I have 3 sets of RCA cables Don pre-wired for me, and another set of RCA cables that came with the amp kit (as well as the inline fuse, etc.).

So 4 sets of RCA cables total.

 

[skrelnik]

I have two sets of RCAs, yes.

I may run into some questions at which point I'll post them here or ask Don.

My big thing though is is it really possible to remove the factory wiring harness for the front and rear speakers? I would assume it's somehow tied into the main wiring loom, which will make it impossible to actually remove without cutting stuff, no?

Yes, I think you would need to cut it off and there is no need to. But once you see it just ask. Don is super helpful as well.

I just went and looked. I have 3 sets of RCA cables Don pre-wired for me, and another set of RCA cables that came with the amp kit (as well as the inline fuse, etc.).

So 4 sets of RCA cables total.

That third set is probably for the sub channels, are they labeled like channel G and I or indicate subwoofer? The 4th set is extra and came with that kit, no need to use since the amplifier has six inputs.